Fermilab Postdocs: Apply for the 2005 Alvin Tollestrup Award by April 30

Alvin Tollestrup (left) presents the URA-sponsored Alvin
Tollestrup Award for postdoctoral research to Nicole
Bell of the Particle Physics Division at the 2004 Users' Meeting. (Click on image for
larger version.)

Are you a postdoc at Fermilab or a URA member institution? Did you receive
your PhD within the last six years? Could you use an extra $3000? If so,
nominate yourself for the third annual Alvin Tollestrup Award
for Postdoctoral Research by April 30.

Nominations consist of a short paper that identifies a specific area
of research, a CV, a list of publications and invited talks, and two
letters of recommendation. All PhD researchers in non-permanent positions at Fermilab or URA member institutions are eligible. "We receive so many outstanding nominations. We wish that we could give out more awards," said John Conway of CDF and chair of the Tollestrup Award Committee.

The committee will select the award recipient by May 31 and invite the postdoc
to give a talk at the 2005 Fermilab Users' Meeting in June. Committee members established the Alvin Tollestrup Award in 2002 to recognize outstanding work conducted by a postdoctoral researcher at Fermilab. "Postdocs do a lot of the heavy lifting and hard work at the lab," Conway said. "They're here every day carrying the ball for the experiments and deserve some recognition."
- Elizabeth Clements

AD Radiation Safety Team First Workers to
Greet Neutrino Beam in MINOS Hall

Conducting radiation surveys, Gary Lauten, Bill Higgins, and Dale
White, of Accelerator Division ES&H, were among the first to occupy the
MINOS detector hall with neutrino beam operating. Using a cell phone
camera, the group captured the moment digitally. Tony Busch and Paul
Sedory, not shown here, were also in the group.

The NUMI-MINOS neutrino beamline complex includes some underground
chambers that are designed to allow people to work there while the NUMI
beam is running. For a few days beginning February 19, an Accelerator
Division Radiation Safety team measured beam-on dose rates in these spaces.
Gary Lauten, Tony Busch, Dale White, Paul Sedory, and Bill Higgins
performed the study. They began in the water pump room and the power
supply room outside the NUMI target hall. Later they moved downstream
to the end of the decay pipe, measuring the region outside the absorber
enclosure and the 900-foot-long access tunnel slanting down from there
to the MINOS near detector hall.

During this study, on the afternoon of February 22, they realized that
they were the first people to be present in the MINOS hall with the NUMI
beam operating. Using a cell phone  which had lousy signal strength
360 feet underground, but which incorporated a camera that functioned
just fine  they snapped pictures of the occasion, one of which is shown
above.
- Bill Higgins

From Cornell News, March 7, 2005Hans Bethe, a titan of physics and conscience of science, dies at age 98
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Nobel laureate Hans Bethe, the last of the giants of the golden age of 20th-century physics and the birth of modern atomic theory, and one of science's most universally admired figures, died quietly yesterday evening at his home in Ithaca, N.Y. He was 98.
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From the Beacon News, March 5, 2005Fermi fires first neutrino pulse through ground to Minnesota'Press here:' Simple keystroke starts $170 million experiment
By David Garbe
BATAVIA — The setup on the Fermilab stage Friday afternoon was simple: a podium, a pair of laptop computers and Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.

Despite the simple scene, the laptops were connected to a scientific apparatus Hastert described as nothing short of "mind-boggling."
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Good Morning!

Mike Witherell

Last Friday we celebrated the completion of the NuMI project and the beginning
of the MINOS experiment. This marks the start of a long-baseline neutrino program
that will be a big part of Fermilab for many years to come. I was particularly
pleased that Speaker Hastert, Congressman Oberstar, and Ray Orbach could all
join us for the big event.

I want to repeat my congratulations to all of the talented people who worked
so hard to turn the vision of a long-baseline neutrino program into a reality:
Greg Bock and his NuMI project team; Stan Wojcicki, Doug Michael, and the
MINOS collaboration; and all of the Fermilab employees who rolled up their
sleeves to make the NuMI project a success. It takes the entire laboratory
to build a project like this.

Friday was a great day for the Laboratory, and it took a lot of effort to make
it come off so well. I want to thank all of the people who made it work, both
the team who organized the NuMI dedication and the team who planned and
carried out the lab-wide party.

March 4- March 7
- During this 72 hour period, Operations established 3 stores that,
combined with an existing store, provided the experiments with
approximately 57 hours and 25 minutes of luminosity
- One TeV store lost due to quench
- NuMI experiment commissioned
- D-Zero solenoid quenches

Updated Schedule for Computer Security Awareness Day
An updated schedule for today's presentations on various computer
security topics, held throughout the day,
is available online.
There will also be
a wide variety of short video presentations at the "Ask the Expert"
kiosk outside WH 1W. Participation in any of these activities is
voluntary.

Einstein at Lunchtime
On Wednesday, March 9 from noon to 1:00 p.m. in 1 West,
Fermilab employees can watch
the 50-minute video, "Einstein's Biggest Blunder" from Channel 4 (UK).
It is a popular science program about the expansion of the
Universe, dark energy and whether the speed of light is constant.
All welcome, eating lunch permitted!

Scottish Country Dancing Tonight
Silk & Thistle Scottish Country Dancing has several things to
celebrate, including some special ladies, so dancing tonight
(March 8) will be a bit of a party in honor of International
Women's Day. Anyone is welcome to join us, from at 7:30 to 10 p.m.
at Kuhn Barn. More info at x8194, or 630-584-0825 or folkdance@fnal.gov

Fermilab Barnstormers Host Delta Dart Contest Tomorrow
The Fermilab Barnstormers will hold their
annual Delta Dart Indoor Model Airplane contest this Wednesday, March
9, at the Village Barn. Entry is free! This event is only for the Fermilab
community (close family and friends). Please arrive promptly at 5:30
since you need to build your "world-beater" model before flying it to
fame and fortune! The actual flying contest will begin at
approximately 7:00 p.m., giving the contestant plenty of time to test
fly and trim (and repair) their model.
more information